Our brains love visual content. According to Trend Hunter, consumers are drawn to image-based social networks & sites. It’s easier for most people to process information based on what they see rather than what they read. The rapid growth of photo sharing sites like Pinterest, Instagram and Slideshares proves the power and viral potential of visual content.

Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words – Newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane to the Syracuse Advertising Men’s Club, in March 1911.

After more than a century this advice is still relevant and could be updated as follow: Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words AND can help you get a thousand clicks.

Make your website Pinterest friendly since this social network generates referral traffic to websites.

Where do you find quality images without spending a fortune? It is possible to find FREE high resolution pictures for your blog and social media posts.

Here are seven sites to use to find visual content:

1| Unsplash

Are you looking for beautiful landscape pictures? Unsplash is the site for you. Ten new pictures are added every 10 days, all of which you can download.

2| Picjumbo

Picjumbo has beautiful high resolution food pictures but also offers many more categories such as business, people, fashion, etc. The site is easy to navigate

3| Pixabay

This is a site that I discovered a year or so ago and it’s has been my go-to-site for visual content. The pictures are very high quality and very high resolution, enabling you to really add a professional look to your site. All images and videos on Pixabay are released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0.

4| Gratisography

Are you looking for original, fun, or whimsical pictures? This is the site for you. Gratisography offers free high-resolution pictures you can use on your personal and commercial projects. All pictures were photographed by Ryan McGuire and free of copyright restrictions. New pictures are added weekly!

5| Public Domain Archive

Created by a web designer, photographer and graphic designer, PublicDomainArchive.com is a repository of high quality public domain images found across the web.

6| Death to Stock Photo

Another of my go-to-resources for high resolution pictures, it’s different than the other sites above because you need to sign up for a free subscription. Once you sign up, you will receive a pack of photos each month. Each pack comes with the story behind the photo shoot. Death to Stock Photo also offers a premium version to gain access to the site’s entire library.

7| Kaboompics

My new go-to site for visual content, Kaboompics has a small collection of high-quality images, divided into a few categories. These include cities and architecture, food and drink, and nature. The site has huge image previews so you can check out the image in detail before you decide to download. You will also find a complimentary colors palette present with every photo.

Remember to always give proper attribution when using a photo you find through one of these sites (if it’s required).

Graphic design tools for creating visual content

Not everyone has Photoshop available so here are two sites to help you turn your images into eye-catching visual masterpieces for your blog and social media posts:

Canva

Canva is a fantastic graphic design tool for those who want to create custom photos. Make sure to check their blog for tips on graphic design.

PicMonkey

PicMonkey is an online photo editing service. You can use for free, to edit photos and create designs. A premium version is available.

To create the image above, I used a picture from Kaboompics and edited it with Canva.